PENDLI SATHI REDDY Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Criminal Revision Case under Sections 397 and 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, 'Cr.P.C') is filed by the revision petitioners/A.1 to A.3 challenging the judgment dated 27.02.2007, passed by the learned V Additional Sessions Judge, Warangal, in Criminal Appeal No.69 of 2006, whereunder and whereby the conviction and sentence passed against the revision petitioners for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short 'IPC'), vide judgment dated 29.06.2006 in C.C.No.197 of 2003 by the Special Judicial Magistrate of I Class for PCR Cases, Warangal, were confirmed.

(2.) THE revision petitioners herein are A.1 to A.3 and the respondent herein is the complainant in C.C.No.197 of 2003 before the trial Court. For the sake of convenience, the parties hereinafter will be referred to as they are arrayed in the C.C. before the trial Court.

(3.) THE case of the prosecution in brief is that PWs 1 to 18 are the residents of Ghanpur (W), A.1 is the resident of Veldi of Raghunadhpally Mandal, A.2 to A.4 are the residents of Ghanpur (W) and one Namidala Sampath Kumar (absconding) is the resident of Thorrur village. In the year 1995, A.1 to A.4 and Sampath Kumar started a scheme in the name of Gold India Savings and Investments Limited at Station Ghanpur with a malafide intention and they themselves named A.1 as Branch Manager, A.5 as Divisional Manager and A.2 to A.4 as the agents. All the accused made vide propaganda of the said scheme and made attractive advertisements and got joinedPWs 1 to 18 and others. The terms of the said scheme are that every subscriber should deposit Rs.5/ - or 10/ - per day for a period of ten years and after lapse of ten years, the accused would refund the total amount with interest @ 11% per annum and also they should provide loan facility after completion of one year and on the said secured loan, the interest @ 18% per annum will be charged. Thus, the accused made the witnesses believing that their amounts will not be gone anywhere and they are responsible for any lapses and deposed confidence in the mind of the witnesses, due to which all the witnesses joined in the scheme and deposited amounts. The accused also issued passbooks in favour of PWs 1 to 18. A.2 used to collect amounts daily from the witnesses and issued receipts to them and handed over the amounts to A.1, A.3 and A.4. The collected amount was deposited in the joint account of A.1 and Sampath Kumar in Kakatiya Grameena Bank and Bank of Baroda at Ghanpur (W) under S.B. Account Nos.1912 and 3704 respectively. The accused collected amounts upto May, 1997, closed the business without making refund of amounts to the witnesses and absconded after withdrawing the amounts from the bank. When the witnesses asked the amount from A.2 to A.4, they promised that they will responsible for the refund of the amount to the witnesses, but so far did not pay amount to them. Thus, all the accused with a malafide intention collected amount from PWs 1 to 18 and used the said amount for their personal use and cheated them. As such, the witnesses have filed a private complaint before IV Additional Judicial Magistrate of I Class, Warangal, which was referred to police under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. Thereafter, PW22 registered a case in Crime No.71 of 2000 under Section 420 IPC and recorded the statements of PWs 1 to 20. On 31.08.2000, PW23 apprehended A.2 to A.4 at the house of A.2 and interrogated them. On interrogation, A.2 to A.4 voluntarily confessed to have committed the offence along with A.1 and Sampath Kumar. Basing on the said confession, PW23 affected the arrest of A.2 to A.4and produced them before the Court for judicial remand. On 26.09.2000, A.1 was apprehended at his house and on interrogation, he voluntarily confessed to have committed the offence along with A.2 to A4 and Sampath Kumar, as such PW23 arrested A.1 and produced him before the Court for judicial remand. The police failed to apprehend the said Sampath Kumar and filed the Charge sheet against A.1 to A.4.